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[General Article] World of Warcraft: The Evolution of WoW
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
World of Warcraft is in the spotlight this month, both for this week's Blizzcon and possible expansion announcement and, later, for the game's ninth anniversary. We take a look back at how WoW has evolved over the years. Join us in taking a look back before posting some of your favorite memories in the comments.
World of Warcraft was announced in 2001 at the (now defunct) European Computer Trade Show. There, Blizzard execs promise gamers a diverse, accessible online gameplay experience that both hard-core and novice gamers could enjoy. This wasn't an idle affirmation; by then Blizzard had more than proven its ability to design games with mass market appeal. In fact, although officially World of Warcraft took four years to develop, in a way it had been in the works since 1994. Blizzard's classic real-time-strategy title Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (released in 1994) redefined strategy game rules and served as a litmus test for Blizzard's philosophy of accessible design. The follow-up to that title, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness reinforced that success and convinced the development team it was onto something big.
Read more of Nellie Johnson's World of Warcraft: The Evolution of WoW.
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Comments
"It could also mean we're in for a genre full of less-innovative, more metrics-driven games."
I see it as being very similar to the movie industry. We have a TON of horrible metric driven, cookie cutter, cash grab movies amidst 2 to 4 Good to Great movies per year. Same with the music scene. I think it's just par for the course for the entertainment industry and the gaming side is a part of that. As much as there was a golden age of movies, it's still a thriving industry and every so often pumps out a few quality titles that keep it going, as will be the same with the gaming industry long after WoW has closed shop. Question is, when is the next "WoW" coming and will it be anything like WoW at all or something different.
I like to compare it to the Star Wars Trilogy(original) giving way to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Different yet similar and equally awesome. Plenty of room for WoW to move over and let another take the throne. But I'm going to enjoy the crap out of everything WoW oriented up to that point and probably long after, much like I do with the Star Wars IP.
Yes, I am back for the third time. 6 years then 1 then 1. Most of the reasons for my return are nostalgia, including playing a shape-shifter and flying - something I do not see in other AAA MMOs. The Timeless Isle has been a blast and I am gearing up all my alts for the next expansion there.
I cannot prove it but I think that one of the reasons for WOWs success was that it brought in female players. Although I had only played MMOs for three years (EQ, Ach, etc.) meeting a true female (verified by voice chat) was rare. The number of women exploded with WOW and to this day I find many more of them playing WOW than any other AAA MMO). Of course, this is my opinion.
Another reason for WOWs success is that it picked up a more mature (older?) audience. I almost had culture shock from going from Lineage 2 to WOW. People were actually helpful in WOW. Yes, there was Barrens chat but I was one who enjoyed the Chuck Norris jokes. The maturity level has going down dramatically since WOW vanilla and I believe that could be one of the reasons why so many have left.
Interesting that the article refers to the "changing audience". Well, I am almost 10 years older, and as a baby boomer I am getting on in years. Actually this is one of the reasons that I returned to WOW. Action combat is fun for a while but causes physical pain after an extended period of time. Agility demanding and brain demanding puzzles are fun but when you get to a certain age your ability to complete them (especially jumping puzzles) deteriorates. There is nothing more frustrating than a puzzle that you can't complete. I used to PVP but after getting completely embarrassed in other games I have given up that mode. It is true that you can't do what you used to do - but I can still play WOW.
WOW getting simpler for a target younger audience has a side benefit for us curmudgeons as well. I STILL hate what Blizzard did to the Talents in CATA and continued in MOP. I remember the "simple but deep" motto from somewhere. Things are getting simpler but deeper not so much. No matter. I am back again.
I have very fond memories of WoW.
BUT, it needs something big and dramatic to put itself firmly back in the lead again.
Something like 3D compatibility (Oculus Rift etc.)
WoW needs to return to full-world PvP.
Make characters more customisable again, AND REVERSE THE FIRE MAGE NERF (you never know - if you do this, TotalBiscuit might start liking WoW again).
Thank you. That's a very interesting perspective. I agree with everything you've said.
My only critisism is that WoW very heavily favours rare people like you at the end game. It doesn't offer much for busy people who play solo. For example, even the short-term pet battle games give rewards only viable if you play in a group over extended periods of time, i.e. - raids and dungeons.
Obviously, people like you must be favoured as regards rewards, but I'm just saying that there need to be more activities for people with less time commitment during the end-game.
semi-related and recently released on Kindle
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/399194/history-of-diablo-book-Stay-Awhile-and-Listen.html
EQ2 fan sites
I agree that WoW's depth has been diminished and this is a bad thing, e.g. - crafting used to be more powerful - now there is no point.
However, I liked the PvP pet battles because you can play them if you have a spare 5 minutes. The problem with the PvP pet battles is that you must go raiding for the rewards to be useful. So you can't play the end-game of WoW on a casual basis.
WoW's end-game activities (raiding etc) demand many hours (half a day etc.) on a daily/weekly basis. This limits the fan-base and gives MMORPGs in general a very bad name, e.g. - nerdy, no life, antisocial etc.
SPOILER ALERT....maybe
Just speculation, but if the new expansion is truly "Warlords of Draenor" then we might be seeing the end of the Warcraft Universe. This sounds like it would herald in the return of Sargeras and the real true threat to Azeroth. The only other thing worse than Sargeras would be if the "Old Gods" returned, however if you've been playing, it clearly points to "someone" coming back and he is the "true threat" to Azeroth
P.S. WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!
Nvidia introduced 3d vision to WoW years ago, it was a thud of sorts. It looked good in the stores, but I doubt many people bought it...
Link: http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-games.html
Open world and character customization would be nice to see in-game again, but I doubt they will go back on their "development" of the game.
Cheers!
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
what they need is to stop listening 2 the locusts tht treat very mmo like a race to max lvl after all theyre not the ones tht stay the longest
i would want more hidden quests objects and lore tidbits and more exploration and deeper non linear dungeons and more customization options
IMO WoW's lore was always its strong point and what I found all the people I played with latched onto and loved.
The gear/reputation grinds really turned me away from this game because aside from some cosmetic items, the reputation items you spent weeks/months getting were useless when a expansion came out.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
well i suppose i am the only one who believes that WoW is what Hollywood is for cinema, great numbers but no point...
i was great fan of Warcraft III RoC & TFT, but i didnt liked the MMO at all ... i couldnt play MMO without PvP, and its 2 factions PvP was looking broken, it proved broken... never played WoW higher than 11lvl ...
No - I mean proper 3D - a different screen for each eye - when you turn your head, your view changes.
I don't mean that horrible '3D' fixed screen where you have to wear 'sunglasses' and everything is dark.
We are talking about 2 completely different things.
Newer MMOs like ARR, GW2, and TOR are all flaming out. Players are returning to WoW, hence the better than expected quarterly report.
The only reason I'm more inclined to return to WoW than the other games you mention is because I have more 'assets' in WoW.
In other words, it's because ''WoW got there first'.
That's not exactly the most glowing of reasons to return to WoW. Knowing the psychology of this, I certainly won't buy WoW if Blizzard don't put in a huge effort and make something good.
Not sure if you're trolling here, but there has been a constant push (since the 1st expansion of the game) to streamline the game & make the experience more convienent for solo players......or players that don't have access to guilds)
From when Groups had to form on their own, and physically travel to dungeons, to meeting stones (where only 2 members needed to summon rest of group), to automated group finders, that found a group for you and automatially zones you & and out.
From difficult to complete solo quests (where you actually had a chance of dieing) to easy to complete quests, where you never have to worry about your HP falling any where near dangerous levels.
Instances have gone from 1+ hr long events, to roughly 30 min experiences. PvP Battlegrounds have also been tuned down to run around 30 or so minutes to complete.
Hmm... this again. No matter how I try to answer statements like these I always end up looking like Loki or some other Jerk like that.... here goes....
MMOs were NOT and NEVER WERE made "for the Masses".... they were NOT for People with busy lives that don't have hours and hours to play a game. Blizzard did not change that no matter what their Marketers think they did.
With all due respect to all People who ever played MMOs but never understood this simple FACT.... MMOs were not intended to be "Casual Friendly" or "Quick Entertainment". MMOs were originally made for geeks, nerds, and dorks, who lived with their Personal Computers like a Spouse, who dreamed of a virtual worlds that THEY could mold and shape to THEIR will (in contrast to the will of the Masses). Saving time was NOT a design parameter, on the contrary... spending time in your favorite MMO was a FEATURE. Working together with other Players for hours while in a Group was a FEATURE.
No matter how many so-called improvements Blizzard made to the MMO Model, in the end it doesn't matter... MMOs are still MMOs and even Blizzard could not change that without altering WoW so much that Players stopped referring to it as a MMO. Some Players already have stopped referring to WoW as a MMO btw.
Now that being said.... I am not going to say today "get out of my MMO genre"... in belongs to all of us Players so I welcome all to enjoy it.... but PLEASE REALIZE that calls and suggestions to make MMOs anymore solo and casual friendly than what they already ARE is a call or a suggestion to turn MMOs into a game of another genre entirely. MMOs will cease to be MMOs if this so-called "evolution" continues.
We are not trying to be anti-social: Some of us Players are NOT calling for Players to "Get off our Lawns".... we are calling for "Walk on our Lawns if you wish to but please respect our property and don't hurt it". There is a big difference in those two statements and outlooks.
You want to call me anti-social, nerdy, you want to accuse me of having no life? Go right ahead. Just remember this analogy if you want to understand why we don't agree with "improving" MMOs for the Masses....for example.... I do not visit FaceBook calling people stupid for sharing their personal info and pics on an Internet system not designed for adequate security and privacy of personal information.... Yet I could do this but I do not for it would be considered rude to stand on a virtual street corner and warn everyone how foolish FaceBook is.... I care what happens to People in general, but the Masses won't listen to People telling them their activities on FB are dangerous because People have already been warned about this for years and the Masses don't care to hear the message.
...but you see here is the "Kicker".... THAT is exactly what People are doing when they say on one hand they play MMOs and on the other hand ask they be completely changed.... I personally find suggestions by Players to make MMOs more solo friendly and less time consuming to be a rude and anti-social behavior against the demographic of Players that MMOs were made for in the first place. It would be like going to a BaseBall game and demanding that the Team Owner put in Football Goal Posts even though they are counter-productive to Gameplay for BaseBall.
Keeping MMOs group oriented and time consuming like old school MMOs hurts no one contrary to the opinions of some People. MMOs needed improvements, yes, improvements in graphics, in the game engines, in account security, NOT in gameplay design and philosophy and Key Features.
So maybe now People will understand better why some of us loyal old school MMO fans get so cranky.... We never said you could not walk on our Lawn....we invited you to our Lawns(play MMOs with us) in the first place..... but you DID dig holes in it and mess it up as you walked across it, and some are still doing this.... that Lawn was Our before it was also Yours. We need to share it as it was designed to be, if we don't eventually it won't be a Lawn anymore, it will just be a sand lot full of weeds and trash.
If Players want and desire a new type of game that is solo friendly yet also multiplayer, that can be played in quick, short bursts of time, then COOL, ask the Devs to make one for all the Players that want this (and ask them to NOT call it a MMO).... but please DON'T ask them to change an existing genre that already has loyal Fans.
I have put this out as respectfully as I could. I hope People will understand. Have a good day.
If you haven't played or kept up to date with wow in a few years, its best to not make suggestions about them needing to add stuff that is either already in the game, or currently in development.
You're presuming that MMORPGs are only designed for a niche group of people (people who spend a huge amount of time gaming).
I disagree. They are a business, e.g. - designed to make a profit. The usual way of doing this is to appeal to as many people as possible.
However, all games favour people who are willing to put in more time than others - this isn't a characteristic confined to MMORPGs.
For example, some of the most hardcore players I know play FPS games - not MMORPGs.
You seem to be holding on to ancient concepts. Times have changed, so have people. Well, everyone except you.
You see, today, with the huge amount of online games around, an MMO needs a solid playerbase. Not just to survive financially, but also for ingame characteristics, mechanics and the general immersion of it to stay viable and working.
You can't just cater to the "hardcore" fanbase anymore. They don't have maybe 2 MMO's to pick from. They have dozens to pick from. Therefor, you need a casual playerbase as well. You need players to fill up the world.
Striking the balance between the 2 crowds is key. It's also impossible. So yeah...
I agree about the first weeks. It and beta were the most fun I've ever had. But I love new game introductions for some of that same experience.